Neil praises reaction

Assistant manager Neil Cox said he has been very encouraged by the reaction from Wimbledon’s players in training after Saturday’s defeat against Gillingham.

The Dons squad were put through a double training session yesterday as preparations for the FA Cup first round tie against York City gathered pace.

“It was good to see the lads so disappointed that we did not take anything out of Saturday’s game against the league leaders,” said Neil Cox. “We thought we should have got something out of it, but we are working hard on the training pitch this week to put in a good performance for York City. We needed a clear week so that we could sort everything out. We have been running off a difficult timetable since we came in, but with no game during the week we are able to get through a lot of work in training. We had a double training session yesterday, hopefully we can get through a lot more work, and that will show itself on Saturday. It is the first round proper of the FA Cup and we want to be in the second round of the hat. We will go there with our strongest side possible to try and win the game.”

Neil Cox added that the coaching staff have taken every opportunity to keep injured midfielder Sammy Moore involved with the group – and have even offered him a chance to do some scouting while he continues his recuperation.

“We have made sure that we have kept in touch with him as he will be out for a while,” added Neil. “We have given him a couple of weeks off to get his head right, but he has a plan of action and we will start working hard with him when he comes back. We will also get him to go off to a few games for us if he wants to while he is out.”